If there is one constant that has endured the span of Atlanta Tribune’s publishing, it is that there would be no us without you. When the magazine began printing as a tabloid-sized newspaper in the ‘80s, the inspiration behind its inception was to share not just current happenings in Atlanta’s African-American communities but to broadcast the rampant success of its small business owners and entrepreneurs. The Atlanta Business League, then already a force of more than five decades was soldiering ahead in preparing this sector of black professionals to be competitive in the region, and so AT was well aligned and in stellar company. Not much has changed. And more than any other issue each year, this one is dedicated to the stories of such successes with our annual Salute to Minority Business Owners.

As we’ve done for the last 29 years, AT tapped some of Atlanta’s FORTUNE 500 companies for a selection of minority-owned companies they have established partnerships with to celebrate the success of those relationships. This year’s honorees: World Wide Technology Inc. founder and chairman David Steward, and Levi Robinson — president and CEO of Advanced Technology Logistics Inc. As with their predecessors in this honor, these are stories worth a bit of note taking.

Also, in this special combined issue, we delve into the city’s burgeoning tech scene. From the Atlanta convergence of tech giants, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon (pg. 39) to “the ones we’re watching” AT’s first Emerging 7 (pg. 44) and this year’s hot list of innovators, M. Cole Jones and Michael Flanigan of Covello, Carmyn Roots of Marketplacemeet.com, and Harold Alexander of Alexander Software (pg. 25) — we’re feeling solid about the metro area’s moniker as the Silicon Valley of the south.